Water delivery and vacuum retrieval system

ABSTRACT

A water delivery and vacuum retrieval system includes a rotatable boom for mounting on and rotation over a pressure cleaning apparatus. The boom has a rigid conduit extending from a free end to a freely-rotating housing. The boom also has a flexible conduit loosely fitted in the rigid conduit with the flexible conduit extending from the free end of the rigid conduit to a freely-rotating fluid coupling in the housing. The housing and fluid coupling are configured for independent rotation. In use, air space in the housing is placed in fluid communication with a vacuum portion of the pressure cleaning apparatus while the fluid coupling is placed in fluid communication with a water dispensing portion of the pressure cleaning apparatus.

ORIGIN OF THE INVENTION

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119, the benefit of priority from provisionalapplication 61/068,774, with a filing date of Mar. 10, 2008, is claimedfor this non-provisional application.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to pressure washing systems, and moreparticularly to a water delivery and vacuum retrieval system used tosupply a pressure washing system with water and retrieve wastewatergenerated by the pressure washing system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The cleaning of hard surfaces (e.g., concrete, asphalt, aggregate, etc.)is an issue for cities/municipalities, businesses, and the military.Cities/municipalities need to clean their streets, sidewalks and parkinglots. Businesses need to clean their hard-floor warehouses andfactories, as well as their sidewalks and parking lots. The militaryneeds to maintain the cleanliness of its posts/bases, to includeairstrips and tarmacs.

Over time, all of the above-noted surfaces get stained from a variety ofnatural and man-made substances. Most of the man-made substances aredried liquids that drip or are spilled onto one of the surfaces. Forexample, engine/transmission oil, gasoline and anti-freeze top the listof vehicle “droppings” that stain a hard surface. Spills of these andother products (e.g., paints, chemicals, food, drinks, etc.) add to thestaining of a surface. The cleaning of dried-liquid stains from a hardsurface has improved in recent years with the development of a varietyof pressure cleaning and wastewater reclamation systems.

Wastewater reclamation has become increasingly important as federal,state and local regulations require the clean-up of wastewater from mostpressure cleaning operations. Accordingly, most state-of-the-artpressure cleaning and wastewater reclamation systems have (i) one ormore water hoses leading to a pressure washer wand or cleaning tool, and(ii) one or more vacuum lines leading to a vacuum tool that is separatefrom or integrated with the cleaning tool. As an operator walks ordrives the cleaning and vacuum tool(s) over a surface, the water hose(s)and vacuum line(s) must be constantly manipulated and cleared from thearea being cleaned. The task of hose/line manipulation and clearing istypically handled by an additional operator so the “cleaning” operatorcan concentrate on the surface being cleaned without worrying about thehose/line entanglements. Obviously, the use of an additional operatorincreases the overall cost for a surface cleaning operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide asystem for the delivery of high pressure water to a surface cleaningtool and for the vacuum retrieval of wastewater generated by thecleaning tool.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become moreobvious hereinafter in the specification and drawings.

In accordance with the present invention, a water delivery and vacuumretrieval system for use in pressure cleaning is provided. The systemincludes a rotatable boom adapted to be coupled to and above a pressurecleaning apparatus for rotation thereover. The boom has a rigid conduitextending from a free end to a freely-rotating housing. The boom alsohas a flexible conduit loosely fitted in the rigid conduit with theflexible conduit extending from the free end of the rigid conduit to afreely-rotating fluid coupling in the housing. An air space is definedbetween the housing and the fluid coupling. The housing and fluidcoupling are configured for independent rotation. In use, the air spacein the housing is placed in fluid communication with a vacuum portion ofthe pressure cleaning apparatus while the fluid coupling is placed influid communication with a water dispensing portion of the pressurecleaning apparatus. One or more tanks can be coupled to the boom viaconnecting lines/conduits that maintain a water-carrying line/conduitloosely fitted within a vacuum-carrying line/conduit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent upon reference to the following description of thepreferred embodiments and to the drawings, wherein correspondingreference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the severalviews of the drawings and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a water delivery and vacuum retrievalsystem in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of a boom system of the waterdelivery and vacuum retrieval system of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of a vacuum recovery tank systemthat can be used in the water delivery and vacuum retrieval system ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view of another embodiment of a vacuum recovery tanksystem that can be used in the water delivery and vacuum retrievalsystem of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a belt-driven arm that can be coupled tothe water delivery portion of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1, anembodiment of a water delivery and vacuum retrieval system in accordancewith the present invention is illustrated within the dashed linesreferenced by numeral 10. System 10 can be used in conjunction with avariety of pressure washing cleaning systems to deliver low orhigh-pressure (heated) water to cleaning tools and simultaneouslyretrieve (via vacuum) the wastewater generated by the pressure cleaning.Accordingly, by way of example, system 10 is shown coupled to ahigh-pressure hot water source 100, a vacuum source 102, and a pressurecleaning apparatus 200 (e.g., walk-behind, driven, etc.) that caninclude individual and separated sprayer tool(s) 202 and vacuum tool(s)204. Tools 202 and 204 could also be incorporated into a combinationtool without departing from the scope of the present invention. That is,system 10 can be used with either type of tool arrangement.

System 10 includes a boom system contained within the dashed linedreferenced by numeral 20 and can include a vacuum recovery tank systemcontained within the dashed lines referenced by numeral 40. In general,boom system 20 manages both water supply and vacuum lines leading totools 202/204 in a novel way that eliminates the need to manuallymonitor and manage these lines. Boom system 20 can be readily adapted towork with any walk-behind or driven pressure cleaning apparatus 200 onwhich tools 202/204 are mounted. In general, vacuum recovery tank system40 links sources 100 and 102 in a novel way to boom system 20 (i) tosupply water and vacuum thereto, and (ii) manage the wastewater passedtherethrough.

Referring first to boom system 20, a support 22 rigidly couples boomsystem 20 to pressure cleaning apparatus 200 in order to support boomsystem 20 at a selected height above cleaning apparatus 200. As will beapparent from the following description, boom system 20 is maintained(by support 22) at a height that will be above the head of an operator300 of cleaning apparatus 200.

In order to manage both water supply and vacuum lines, boom system 20employs a rigid vacuum conduit 24 housing a flexible high-pressure waterconduit 26. More specifically, vacuum conduit 24 is sized to looselycontain water conduit 26 so that air can flow along vacuum conduit 24between the outer wall of water conduit 26 and the inner wall of vacuumconduit 24. At a free outboard end of this conduit arrangement, vacuumconduit 24 is open while water conduit 26 terminates in areadily-accessible and conventional coupling 26A (e.g., a “quickconnect” coupling). At the other end of this conduit arrangement, vacuumconduit 24 terminates in a rigid and sealed fashion to a freely-rotatinghousing 28 while water conduit 26 terminates in a freely-rotatinghigh-pressure fluid coupling 30 within housing 28. In general, housing28 encases coupling 30 in an air space 28A so that air can flow freelyaround coupling 30. Each of housing 28 and coupling 30 is capable of360° of independent rotation relative to support 22 and cleaningapparatus 200 as indicated by rotational arrows 29 and 31, respectfully.

The above-described conduit arrangement defines a substantiallyhorizontal (i.e., with respect to the surface on which cleaningapparatus 200 rests) portion having a length “L” that is sufficient toposition the free outboard end of the conduit arrangement (i.e., the endwith water coupling 26A) beyond the normal operating position ofoperator 300. In this way, both water supply and vacuum lines coupled toand in the vicinity of cleaning apparatus 200 are maintained in a planeabove operator 300/apparatus 200 regardless of the movement/positioningof operator 300/apparatus 200 since housing 28 and coupling 30 arecapable of independent and free rotation.

A water line 32 couples rotating coupling 30 to sprayer tool(s) 202while a separate vacuum line 34 couples air space 28A to vacuum tool(s)204. As mentioned above, tools 202/204 can be separated from one another(e.g., a separate sprayer head with a vacuum trailing behind the sprayerhead) or can be combined in a single spray/vacuum head without departingfrom the scope of the present invention. One embodiment of separatedtools 202/204 could be an enclosed sprayer head that is trailed by asqueegee assembly having a vacuum coupled thereto to vacuum upwastewater corralled/collected by the squeegee assembly.

By way of example, an embodiment of the boom system of the presentinvention is shown in isolation in FIG. 2. Where appropriate, referencenumerals used to describe elements of boom system 20 (FIG. 1) will beused in describing the embodiment in FIG. 2. Support 22 can be realizedby a rigid pole 22A fixedly attached to a rigid plate 22B at a selectedheight above cleaning apparatus 200. A rigid T-pipe 60 is rigidlycoupled and sealed to base plate 22B and is coupled to housing 28 bymeans of a sealing bearing 62 that allows housing 28 to freely rotate(as indicated by rotational arrow 29) relative to T-pipe 60 whileallowing the interior of T-pipe 60 to be in fluid communication with airspace 28A of housing 28. T-pipe 60 further defines an open conduit 60Ato which vacuum line 34 is attached.

Water line 32 is led through air space 28A, bearing 62, T-pipe 60, andbase plate 22B. Note that water line 32 is led through base plate 22Band sealing bearing 62 in a sealed fashion to prevent any loss of vacuumapplied via vacuum line 34. Water line 32 is fixed in place by one ormore of the structures it passes through so that water line 32 can serveas a fixed support for freely-rotating fluid coupling 30.

Vacuum conduit 24 is a rigid L-shaped pipe having a vertical portion 24Athat is rigidly coupled to the top of housing 28 such that water conduit26 can feed vertically into rotating coupling 30. A support brace 64rigidly couples housing 28 to a point on the horizontal portion 24B ofvacuum conduit 24 so that vacuum conduit 24 and housing 28 rotate inunison. Horizontal portion 24B extends for a length “L” as describedabove. Water conduit 26 loosely fits in vacuum conduit 24 as alsodescribed earlier herein. At the free end of water conduit 26 is aquick-connect coupling 26A. Note that coupling 26A can protrude fromvacuum conduit 24 to facilitate attachment of a water line.

Referring again to FIG. 1, vacuum recovery tank system 40 serves as alink between sources 100/102 and boom system 20. Briefly, tank system 40includes the following:

at least one tank 42,

a combination water/vacuum port defined by (i) rigid vacuum conduit 44in fluid communication with the interior of tank 42 and having an openoutboard end 44A, and (ii) a water line 46 passing into vacuum conduit44 at 46A in a sealed fashion, and

a vacuum port 48 provided in a wall of tank 42.

Water line 46 terminates at either end thereof with couplings 46B and46C (e.g., quick connect couplings) with coupling 46B being attachableto source 100 and coupling 46C being attachable to a flexible water line76 used to connect water line 46 to water conduit 26. Vacuum conduit 44is sized so that air flow is supported along vacuum conduit 44 betweenthe outside of water line 46 and the inside of vacuum conduit 44. Aflexible vacuum line 74 attaches to the outside of the outboard end ofvacuum conduit 44 and to the outboard end of vacuum conduit 24. Suchattachment can be by any conventional hose clamp, annular compressioncollar cuff, or a rotating collar or cuff without departing from thescope of the present invention. Water line 76 fits loosely within vacuumline 74 so that air flow is supported along vacuum line 74 between theoutside of water line 76 and the inside of vacuum line 74.

In use, water source 100 is attached to coupling 46B and vacuum source102 is coupled to vacuum port 48. Water is supplied to coupling 30 vialines/conduits 44, 74 and 24 contained within vacuum lines/conduits 46,76 and 26, respectfully, that supply a vacuum to housing 28. As operator300 pushes (or drives) cleaning apparatus 200 on a surface to becleaned, boom system 20 keeps the water and vacuum lines/conduits up andout of the way of operator 300/apparatus 200. The free and independentrotation provided by housing 28 and coupling 30 maintain the properorientation of water and vacuum lines regardless of the position ofoperator 300 and apparatus 200. This means that the cleaning operationwill proceed faster and more efficiently without requiring an operatorto monitor the various vacuum and water lines/conduits.

As mentioned above, the present invention can also include vacuumrecovery tank system 40 that uses one or more tanks. Accordingly, by wayof example, FIG. 3 illustrates a one tank system and FIG. 4 illustratesa two tank system. Where appropriate, reference numerals used todescribe elements of tank system 40 (FIG. 1) will be used in describingthe embodiments in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Referring first to FIG. 3, single tank 420 is a hollow tank that canhave its sides reinforced as needed to withstand vacuum pressures thatit will experience. Tank 420 is supported on legs 422 (or other type ofbase support) to allow a drain line 424 to be coupled to the bottom oftank 420. Drain line 424 is in fluid communication with the bottomregion of tank 420 and terminates outside of tank 420 in a drain valve426. A baffle or weir wall 428 is mounted in tank 420 to thereby definechambers 430 and 432 where vacuum conduit 44 communicates with chamber430 and vacuum port 48 communicates with chamber 432.

As wastewater enters tank 420 via vacuum conduit 44, baffle/weir wall428 traps most of the wastewater solids in chamber 430. The wastewaterliquid can reside in chamber 430, but the wastewater liquid can alsomigrate through baffle/weir wall 428 and into chamber 432. Mounted atoptank 420 is a high-pressure water coupling 434 with a pipe 436 leadingfrom water coupling 434 through chamber 430 to a point in tank 420 justabove drain line 424. A float switch 438 disposed in chamber 432 can beprovided/used to automatically activate a pump (not shown in FIG. 3)when the wastewater level in chamber 432 reaches a certain height. Thispump is used to pump the wastewater from chamber 432 for treatment,disposal, etc.

Since tank 420 will be used to collect wastewater having solids mixedtherein, tank 420 needs to be periodically purged. To do this, vacuumconduit 44 and port 48 are sealed and high-pressure water is applied tocoupling 434 while drain valve 426 is opened. The high-pressure water isdirected from coupling 434 to the bottom of tank 420 by pipe 436. Thehigh-pressure water exiting pipe 436 pushes wastewater solids collectedin the bottom of tank 420 into drain line 424. As a result, thewastewater's solids are driven from the bottom of tank 420 and outthrough drain line 424.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a two-tank system is illustrated that usestanks 420A and 420B. Similar to tank 420, tanks 420A and 420B can bereinforced as needed to withstand vacuum pressures. Tanks 420A and 420Bare serially connected to one another in terms of vacuum from vacuumsource 102. Thus, tank 420B has a first vacuum port 48A coupled tovacuum port 48 of tank 420A by a line 450, and has a second vacuum port48B coupled to vacuum source 102 by a line 452. Baffle or weir wall 428is mounted in tank 420B to thereby define chambers 430 and 432 wherevacuum port 48A communicates with chamber 430 and vacuum port 48Bcommunicates with chamber 432. Note that no such baffle/weir wall isrequired in tank 420A. As described above, float switch 438 disposed inchamber 432 can be provided/used to automatically activate a pump 440when the wastewater level in chamber 432 reaches a certain height. Pump440 then pumps the wastewater in chamber 432 into a holding/treatmenttank 442 where the wastewater can be treated for re-use or forenvironmentally-safe disposal.

As mentioned above, boom system 20 improves the speed and efficiency ofa cleaning operation. Additional improvements can be achieved bycoupling a direct drive system to the cleaning apparatus' spray head.More specifically and with reference to FIG. 5, most hard-surfacepressure cleaning apparatus use a rotating arm spray head. A typicalprior art spray head is referenced by numeral 80 and includes a watercoupling 82, a rotating bearing 84, a spray arm 86 extending out frombearing 84 in opposing radial directions, and spray nozzles 88 mountedon the ends of spray arm 86 at an angle of inclination so that spray arm86 rotates when high-pressure water exits nozzles 88. Under extreme highpressures of 3000-4000 PSI, spray arm 86 can achieve a rotation rate onthe order of 1500 revolutions per minute (RPM). It has been found thatthis rotational speed can be doubled by coupling a motorized drivesystem 90 to, for example, rotating bearing 84. Drive system 90 can berealized by a motor and a belt (not shown) to bring about directrotation of spray arm 86. By increasing the speed of the spray arm'srotation, it has been found that the cleaning apparatus can bepushed/driven at higher speeds thereby reducing the amount of time andcost to clean a hard surface. Further, the direct drive of the spray armcan be combined with the other features described herein to provide anovel hard-surface cleaning system that cleans better and moreefficiently than currently-available systems.

Although the invention has been described relative to specificembodiments thereof, there are numerous variations and modificationsthat will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in light ofthe above teachings. For example, other embodiments of the presentinvention could utilize the above-described boom system and vacuum tankrecovery system independently of one another. That is, the boom system(or vacuum tank recovery system) could be coupled on a stand-alone basisto an existing pressure cleaning apparatus. In addition, the presentinvention is not limited to use with high-pressure water sources as itcould also be used with low-pressure water sources without departingfrom the scope of the present invention.

While the various vacuum tank recovery systems described hereinillustrate single vacuum ports for coupling to a vacuum tool, it is tobe understood that additional vacuum ports could be provided to allowfor simultaneous use of multiple vacuum tools. Further, the presentinvention could be used without the application of a vacuum forsituations where the user wanted to collect/retrieve wastewater using aseparate wastewater collection/handling system. Still further, if aseparate tow-behind squeegee/vacuum were to be used to collectwastewater, a vacuum line could be directly coupled to thesqueegee/vacuum in which case only a water line would be coupled to theboom system described herein. The boom system of the present inventioncould also be coupled to a pressure cleaning apparatus that had (i) anonboard reservoir/pump to supply high-pressure water for cleaning,and/or (ii) an onboard vacuum system and wastewater reclamation tank. Inthis instance, the above-described boom system could be used to managethe water supply line used to supply water to the onboard waterreservoir and/or the vacuum line used to retrieve wastewater from theonboard wastewater reclamation tank for ultimate disposal or treatment.While the present invention has been described for use with pressurecleaning apparatus, it is to be understood that the boom system couldalso be coupled to a pushed or driven brush-type cleaning apparatus thatuses liquid in a cleaning process. It is therefore to be understoodthat, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may bepracticed other than as specifically described.

1. A water delivery and vacuum retrieval system for use in pressurecleaning, comprising a rotatable boom adapted to be coupled to and abovea pressure cleaning apparatus for rotation thereover, said boom having arigid conduit extending from a free end to a freely-rotating housing,said boom having a flexible conduit loosely fitted in said rigid conduitand extending from said free end of said rigid conduit to afreely-rotating fluid coupling in said housing wherein air space isdefined between said housing and said fluid coupling, said housing andsaid fluid coupling capable of independent rotation, said air space insaid housing adapted to be in fluid communication with a vacuum portionof the pressure cleaning apparatus and said fluid coupling adapted to bein fluid communication with a water dispensing portion of the pressurecleaning apparatus.
 2. A system as in claim 1 wherein, when said boom iscoupled to the pressure cleaning apparatus, said boom comprises ahorizontal portion and a vertical portion, and wherein said housing andsaid fluid coupling are disposed in said vertical portion.
 3. A systemas in claim 2, wherein said housing is rigidly coupled to saidhorizontal portion.
 4. A system as in claim 1, further comprising tankmeans coupled to said rotatable boom, said tank means defining at leastone interior chamber coupled to said rigid conduit with said interiorchamber adapted to be coupled to a vacuum source, said tank meansfurther having a water distribution line for fluid coupling to saidflexible conduit, said water distribution line adapted to be coupled toa pressurized water source.
 5. A system as in claim 4, wherein aliquid/solid wastewater mixture collected from the vacuum portion of thepressure cleaning apparatus is deposited in said tank means, said systemfurther comprising means for purging said tank means of solids from thewastewater mixture that collects in said tank means.
 6. A system as inclaim 4, wherein a liquid/solid wastewater mixture collected from thevacuum portion of the pressure cleaning apparatus is deposited in saidtank means, said system further comprising means for automaticallypurging said tank means of liquid from the wastewater mixture thatcollects in said tank means.
 7. A system as in claim 4, wherein aliquid/solid wastewater mixture collected from the vacuum portion of thepressure cleaning apparatus is deposited in said tank means, said systemfurther comprising: solids removal means for on-demand purging of saidtank means of solids from the wastewater mixture that collects in saidtank means; and liquid removal means for automatically purging said tankmeans of liquid from the wastewater mixture that collects in said tankmeans.
 8. A water delivery and vacuum retrieval system for use inpressure cleaning, comprising: a rotatable boom adapted to be coupled toand above a pressure cleaning apparatus for rotation thereover, saidboom having a rigid conduit extending from a free end to afreely-rotating housing, said boom having a flexible conduit looselyfitted in said rigid conduit wherein air can move through said rigidconduit and around said flexible conduit, said flexible conduitextending from said free end of said rigid conduit to a freely-rotatingfluid coupling in said housing wherein air space is defined between saidhousing and said fluid coupling, said housing and said fluid couplingcapable of independent rotation, said air space in said housing adaptedto be in fluid communication with a vacuum portion of the pressurecleaning apparatus and said fluid coupling adapted to be in fluidcommunication with a water dispensing portion of the pressure cleaningapparatus; and tank means coupled to said rotatable boom and defining atleast one interior chamber coupled to said rigid conduit with saidinterior chamber adapted to be coupled to a vacuum source; and a waterdistribution line for fluid coupling to said flexible conduit, saidwater distribution line adapted to be coupled to a pressurized watersource.
 9. A system as in claim 8, wherein said water distribution linepasses through a portion of said tank means.
 10. A system as in claim 8wherein, when said boom is coupled to the pressure cleaning apparatus,said boom comprises a horizontal portion and a vertical portion, andwherein said housing and said fluid coupling are disposed in saidvertical portion.
 11. A system as in claim 10, wherein said housing isrigidly coupled to said horizontal portion.
 12. A system as in claim 8,wherein a liquid/solid wastewater mixture collected from the vacuumportion of the pressure cleaning apparatus is deposited in said tankmeans, said system further comprising means for purging said tank meansof solids from the wastewater mixture that collects in said tank means.13. A system as in claim 8, wherein a liquid/solid wastewater mixturecollected from the vacuum portion of the pressure cleaning apparatus isdeposited in said tank means, said system further comprising means forautomatically purging said tank means of liquid from the wastewatermixture that collects in said tank means.
 14. A system as in claim 8,wherein a liquid/solid wastewater mixture collected from the vacuumportion of the pressure cleaning apparatus is deposited in said tankmeans, said system further comprising: solids removal means foron-demand purging of said tank means of solids from the wastewatermixture that collects in said tank means; and liquid removal means forautomatically purging said tank means of liquid from the wastewatermixture that collects in said tank means.
 15. A water delivery andvacuum retrieval system for use in pressure cleaning, comprising: arotatable boom adapted to be coupled to and above a pressure cleaningapparatus for rotation thereover, said boom having a rigid conduitextending from a free end to a freely-rotating housing, said boom havinga flexible conduit loosely fitted in said rigid conduit wherein air canmove through said rigid conduit and around said flexible conduit, saidflexible conduit extending from said free end of said rigid conduit to afreely-rotating fluid coupling in said housing wherein air space isdefined between said housing and said fluid coupling, said housing andsaid fluid coupling capable of independent rotation, said air space insaid housing adapted to be in fluid communication with a vacuum portionof the pressure cleaning apparatus and said fluid coupling adapted to bein fluid communication with a water dispensing portion of the pressurecleaning apparatus; tank means defining at least one interior chamberadapted to be coupled to a vacuum source; a first flexible connectingconduit coupling said interior chamber of said tank means to said freeend of said rigid conduit; a water line passing into a portion of saidtank means, said water line adapted to be coupled to a pressurized watersource; and a second flexible connecting conduit coupling said waterline to said flexible conduit of said boom, wherein air can move throughsaid first flexible connecting conduit and around said second flexibleconnecting conduit.
 16. A system as in claim 15 wherein, when said boomis coupled to the pressure cleaning apparatus, said boom comprises ahorizontal portion and a vertical portion, and wherein said housing andsaid fluid coupling are disposed in said vertical portion.
 17. A systemas in claim 16, wherein said housing is rigidly coupled to saidhorizontal portion.
 18. A system as in claim 15, wherein a liquid/solidwastewater mixture collected from the vacuum portion of the pressurecleaning apparatus is deposited in said tank means, said system furthercomprising means for purging said tank means of solids from thewastewater mixture that collects in said tank means.
 19. A system as inclaim 15, wherein a liquid/solid wastewater mixture collected from thevacuum portion of the pressure cleaning apparatus is deposited in saidtank means, said system further comprising means for automaticallypurging said tank means of liquid from the wastewater mixture thatcollects in said tank means.
 20. A system as in claim 15, wherein aliquid/solid wastewater mixture collected from the vacuum portion of thepressure cleaning apparatus is deposited in said tank means, said systemfurther comprising: solids removal means for on-demand purging of saidtank means of solids from the wastewater mixture that collects in saidtank means; and liquid removal means for automatically purging said tankmeans of liquid from the wastewater mixture that collects in said tankmeans.